Updated satellite images of Pittsburgh (McKeesport, Washington: appointed, how much, houses)

[PIT2MAD]

Does anyone know of any available satellite images of the city that are more up to date than Google's? Looking at the city in this way gives me a great perspective of what's happening where and at what pace, and it's been extremely frustrating the past several years as I've been away from the city to rely on Google which up until about a year ago still hosted images from before the Civic Arena was torn down.

Currently my benchmark for the timeline is the Addison project in the Hill since it's easy to spot near downtown and track the progress but the Google image only shows a handful of houses under construction and it hasn't been updated for over a year now.

I'm so serious about this I am willing to pay for access to quality images updated at reasonable intervals. Waiting 2-3 years for an update is proposterous to me when Google seems more focused on giving us images of the moon and the Great Barrier Reef and the Sahara Desert than places where people actually live.

I regularly check Bing, Apple, and Mapquest and have been thoroughly disappointed with each.

[Sciulli]

how about this?

https://www.mapbox.com/bites/00113/

"Landsat-live reveals the planet's surface in real time and in stunning resolution, fed by a constant stream of public-domain imagery from NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite. Above is an embedded version you can explore."

edit... well looks like you can't zoom very close with this tool.

also I think it's pretty unfair to be upset that Google isn't pushing more recent images from their free mapping service.

[Sciulli]

what about this?

PhotoMaps by nearmap

[PIT2MAD]

Finally it has been updated!

Tons of very obvious changes going on from this perspective...

East Liberty:
-A lot of progress on transit center since last update
-Luna Garage is a great use of that space in the valley amidst such a developed area
-Bksq 2.0 coming along
-Can really get a grip of the scale of the Larimer project and how it will help bridge those two neighborhoods

Oakland:
-Health Dept site coming along, can really appreciate the scale of it
-Unfortunately no more work being done at Portal site
-Salk Hall annex is complete
-Old Children's Hospital site prep work including demolition of remaining part of building
-Schenley Place complete

Riverfronts:
-This update captures the cleaned up site at Aspinwall and Sharpsburg, showing the huge plot of land we are talking about. Hopefully the developers can work with Silky's and the other businesses at that "pinch point" in the middle of this site to clean it up and make it blend into the park without necessarily pushing anyone out
-These images were obviously taken during a work day, evidenced by the THOUSANDS of cars parked in surface lots immediately adjacent to downtown. This really gives a perspective on how much we should be focusing on eliminating/providing alternatives to this type of commuting and using that land more wisely
-Allegheny Riverfront Plan steadily progressing, with 3 crossings visible as well as The Foundry undergoing site prep work, as well as the continuation of Waterfront Place behind the Terminal Building
-LTV site prep work complete, with the next update we should see some major infrastructure in the works.
-Southside works filling out continues, and still a lot of vacant lots in the PTC development across the river
-New marina at SSW looks great


Washington County (a place I am familiar with so spent some time looking at):
-Southpointe nearly "built-out" (quotes added because of the crazy amount of surface lots, in reality it's not even 50% built-out) according to the site plans
-576 bridges complete, and a noticeable cluster of development off one of the exits of the existing spur, proving that this road can indeed bring some development despite its toll, we will see what happens over the next 10 years as the new portion comes online
-The gas industry continues to build out its infrastructure with pipelines, ponds, and pads, including the recently reopened Westland Spur (which was visible on last update). Although the industry is in a bad spot right now, when it eventually responds much of the bones will be in place (including the new pipeline across the state that will pass through Wash County)


Miscellaneous observations:
-Newbury in South Fayette site prep work in full swing at commercial portion of site, kind of surprised the residential still has not been built out.
-Summerset same story with residential, they are close but they were close with the last update too. No idea if the next phase across the valley is still in the works or not.
-Addison Terrace redevelopment complete in the Hill, with Bentley Drive dwellings being demolished
-The new street grid at the arena site is visible
-TONS of recent home demos visible in McKeesport, evidenced by the freshly turned earth in so many of the lots
-PSP renovation complete and fountain running, provides a much more beautiful representation of our city even for the virtual tourists who may just be exploring via Google Earth
-I'm not seeing the oft-cited plowing of countless acres of greenfields in Cranberry and beyond. Sure there is some of that going on (mostly south of 228) there and in places like South Fayette, but I don't see the demand for this future Sprawlpocolypse to Slippery Rock, Washington Pa, and Weirton that some would have us believe is imminent

And I'll end with a question:
-Anyone know what's going on around Panther Hollow Lake? It looks like a lot of brush has been cleared and I'm wondering if this is related to the efforts to restore it.